Table 2.
Demographic and Geographic Characteristics of All Respondents and of Bypassers vs Local Users
| Group | ||||
| Characteristic | All (N=1,264) | Bypassers (n=402) | Local Users (n=862) | P Value |
| Age-group, % | ||||
| 18–34 years | 10.0 | 10.1 | 9.9 | |
| 35–49 years | 14.9 | 19.0 | 12.9 | .04 |
| 50–64 years | 24.4 | 22.0 | 25.6 | |
| ≥65 years | 50.7 | 48.9 | 51.5 | |
| White, % | 94.2 | 93.8 | 94.4 | .70 |
| Female, % | 73.4 | 71.0 | 74.4 | .22 |
| Married, % | 62.7 | 65.6 | 61.3 | .15 |
| Have health insurance, % | 90.7 | 89.1 | 91.4 | .21 |
| Time to closest hospital, mean (SD), min | 11.5 (9.4) | 11.9 (10.5) | 11.4 (8.9) | .40 |
| Time to second closest hospital, mean (SD), min | 41.4 (21.2) | 41.9 (25.5) | 41.2 (20.4) | .68 |
| Self-reported general health, mean (SD), SF-36 score a | 3.1 (0.8) | 3.0 (0.8) | 3.1 (0.8) | .20 |
| Had inpatient care in the last 12 months, % | 11.0 | 15.6 | 8.8 | <.001 |
| Satisfaction with local CAH, mean (SD), scoreb | 3.9 (0.8) | 3.7 (0.9) | 4.0 (0.7) | <.001 |
| Education, % | ||||
| Less than high school | 16.2 | 16.9 | 15.8 | |
| High school | 37.4 | 39.1 | 36.7 | .18 |
| Some college | 17.9 | 14.3 | 19.5 | |
| College or more | 28.5 | 29.7 | 28.0 | |
| Income, % | ||||
| <$20,000 | 31.1 | 25.8 | 33.6 | |
| $20,000–$40,000 | 33.0 | 32.0 | 33.4 | .02 |
| >$40,000 | 35.9 | 42.2 | 33.1 | |
| PCP density, % | ||||
| ≤3,500 residents per PCP | 20.2 | 20.5 | 20.0 | .12 |
| 3,501–4,500 residents per PCP | 41.1 | 37.1 | 42.9 | |
| >4,500 residents per PCP | 38.8 | 42.3 | 37.1 | |
SF-36 = 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey; CAH = Critical Access Hospital; PCP = primary care physician.
Note: We used the χ2 test (for categorical variables) and the Student t test (for continuous variables) to test for significance of observed differences.
a Possible range of scores, 1–5; higher scores indicate better health.
b Possible range of scores, 1–6; higher scores indicate greater satisfaction.